Gas-discharge conduit for rotary converters



W. H. HOWARD.

GAS DISCHARGE CONDUIT FOR ROTARY CONVERTERS. APPLICATION FILED 0504,1919.

.'1,3?5,965 7 Patented Apr. 26, 1921 Tic 1..

0% IZVE /V 701? mzziwz awm.

A TTORNEYS WITNESSES.

earner EFEQLE.

WILLIAIQ H. HOW'ABD, 0F SALTLAKE CITY, UTAH, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN SMELT- ING- AND REFIN'IITG COMPANY, OF NEW ,YORK, N. Y; A CORPORATION OF NEW' JERSEY.

GAS-DISCHARGE CONDUIT FOR ROTARY CONVERTERS.

Specification of Letters Patent; Patgnted Apr, 26, 1921,

Application filed December .4, 1919. Serial No. 342,451.

I '0 all whom it may concern Y Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. HOWARD, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Salt Lake City, in the county of Salt Lake and State of Utah, have invented c'ertain new and useful Improvements in Gas- Discharge Conduits for Rotary Converters, of which the following 1s a speclficatlon.

The invention relates in general to an improved form ofcondult for conveying smoke and other gaseous products from a rotary converter to the fixed flues apparatus or other gas receiving 'CiGVlCGSllSLILl 1n smelting plants, and the inventionparticularly constitutes an improvement inthe type of devices illustrated in my Patent, #1,153,921, converter for treating matte, granted September 21, 1915.

It is desirable in certainmetallurgical operations, such as in the treatment of'copper matte, to provide a discharge for thegaseous products which discharge will open from the interior of the converter at a point well above any possible splash zone therein and to maintain a continuity of fluid communication with the relatively fixed flue in the different-angularly rotatable positions of the converter. In the above identified patent an .attempt was made to solvethis problemby backing a large diametered hood into engagement with one end of the converter which end was provided with a discharge opening adjacent the upper edge. This con struction, however, requires too much space longitudinally as the converters are at prescut arranged and the large oints necessary,

not infrequently more than twenty feet in circumference, is very apt to develop leaks due to commercial imperfection in manu facture and due to warp-age of the parts r under the varying heat conditions to which" struction which may be regarded as a rela-.

tively cheap metallic'attachment designed to be'readily mounted on one end of the conventional form of rotary converter; which attachment'will maintain a fairlytight connection with the stationary gas receiving flue without the necessity of any refined machining or interfitting of parts and which at the same time will automatically.compensate itself to imperfections in constructions or mountings and to other conditions of service whichmight tend to interfere with the desired loose connection between the revolubly mounted fixed flue. I

Various other objects andadvantages of the invention will be in part obvious from an inspection of the accompanying drawings.

and in part willbe more fully set forth'in form of mechanism'embodyin'g my'inventlon, andthe invention also consists incertain new and novel features of construction and combination of forth and claimed.

in the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is'a .vertical sectional view of a parts hereinafter set preferred embodiment of the invention dis i posed in operative connection between a rotary converter and a relatively fixed gas receiving member; and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged showingof the conconduit and relatively I the following particular description of one i motion between the floating tube and the revolving conduit of Fig. l.

i The shell iscylindri'cal, has its axis, indicated by the line a,'?), horizontally disposed ,1 and 1s providedwith riding rings 13 resting on rollers 14 so that the shell'can be given angular. movement forward and backward as is usual in such constructions.

One end of the converter is flat and de-.

fined by the usual flange plate l5,the flanges 16 of which provide a convenient means for mounting' the attachment l7, partioularlyconstituting the subject-mattergof this double-walled as shown'in the drawings.

Even if the pipe is not water-jacketed it is preferable to water-jacket the throat 12 as shown. The outer side of the pipe portion 19 facing the throat 12 is provided with an opening 20, thus affording ready access to the interior of the converter for the purpose of charging, cleaning or inspecting the same. The opening 20 is normally closed by a suitable lid21. The outer end of the conduit portion 19 may be provided with a normally closed hand hole 22 'for cleaning the upper horizontal portion of the conduit.-

, when made circular in cross-section, so as to minimize leakage at its circumference. In order to minimize the length of the attachment axially of the converter and at the same time to provide for the maximum discharging capacity, it is suggested that the portion 18 be made elliptical in cross-section, or of any other form greater in width thanlength when considered axially of the converter. The discharge port is outlined .by a flanged rim 24 which constitutes the revolving element of the joint with the fixed member hereinafter described. The vertically extendingwater-jacketed portion 18 of the conduit may be extended below the discharge port to balance the weight of the parts, at least roughly, about-the opposite sides of the axis of rotation and to provide a dust chamber 25 which will trap some of the solid particles in the gases passing through the conduits. This dust chamber is particularly of advantage to trap any molten material which mayslop over from the converter when the discharge is through the end of the converter as shown in the patent,

above identified.

The dust or other accumulation may be removed from the chamber from time'to timesthrough the lower end thereof by removing a bottom closing cap 26. I

The relative fixed member for receiving the gaseous discharge from the converter and which may be the usual gas flue or some other gas receiving device is indicated diagrammatically by the uptake 27 mounted on a suitable support 28. A floating tube 29 is carried by the support 28 and has its outer end in bearing engagement with the rim 24 so as to form a continuation of the discharge port 33. The tube is maintained in pressing engagement with the revolving rim 2 L by a plurality of springs 30:which bear at one end against the outer face of the support 28 at their outer ends against brackets 31 fastened to the outer side of the tube 29. By

this arrangement a loose connection is provided between the relatively fixed tube and the revolving conduit. Ifit should so happen that the outer face of the ring is not revolving in a true plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the conduit, the spring pressed tube will have sufficient flexibility to maintain a substantially gas tight connection with the rim and will give slightly to compensate for any irregular movement of the inter-engaging parts.

In order to further insure against leakage at the joints, the outer edge 82 of the tube 29 is provided with an edge groove in which is positioned a packing material 33 such as asbestos rope. As the floating tube 29 is required merely to have a gas conducting capacity sufiicient to convey the gases conducted through the conduit there is no reason for making this tube of greater crosssectional area than the conduit itself and making this tube of relatively small cross-V sectional area has the additional advantage in that it minimizes the possibility of leakage at the joint and reduces the amount of packing compressed between the tube and the rotating rim 24. V c

As there is obviously no necessity for the tube to have any material length, it can be made relatively light in structure and in this case no other support than that provided by the support 18 for the fixed memher. As the floating connection to be moved is thus light in weight there is no necessity for the use of massive springs.

By means of a device of this character it is possible to maintain a continuous gaseous discharge frpm the converter in all angular. positions about the axis a4; intowhich such s devices are usually rotated and practically no more material need be used than is requisite toprovide the desired conducting capacity to handle the discharge: from the converter. The invention therefore features economy in use of material as well as the 0 avoidance of any refinement in construction and at the same time .a practically gas-tight joint is provided which will compensate for irregularities in contactingparts due either to imperfect construction or temperature 115 warpage. V

Having thusdescribed my invention," I claim: i

1. A converter for treating molten matte which comprises a horizontal cylindrical I shell mounted to rotate onits horizontal axis and having its discharge opening for smoke and gases at the upper portion of the shell, a conduit fixed to one end of the shell and rotatable therewith, said conduit leading from said opening and having a discharge end portion concentrically disposed relative to said axis, and means for receiving the gaseous discharge from the converter, said means having a relatively fixed gas intake memberconstituting a continuation of said. rotatlng discharge end portion, and havlng reversea loose but substantially "gas-tight connection with said end portion thereby to permit freedom of rotary motion and-at the sametime avoid leakage at the joint between the rotating end and they fixed intake member.

2. A converterfor treating molten matte which comprises a horizontal cylindrical shell mounted to rotate on its horizontal axis and having its discharge opening for smoke and gases at the upper portion of the shell, a conduit fixed to one end of the shell and rotatable therewith, said conduit leading from said opening and having a discharge end portion concentrically disposed relative to said axis, means for receiving the gaseous discharge from the converter, 1 said means having a relatively fixed gas intake member constituting a continuation of said rotating discharge end portion and means compensating for relative movements other than the rotating movement, thereby to maintain said relatively fixed intake member in gas-tight engagement with said rotating end portion to prevent leakage therebetween under the varying conditions of service. 3. In a device of the class described, the

combination of a cylindrical" converter mounted for rotary movement about its horizontal axis and having a substantially fiat,

end, a conduit including a straight portion of relatively small diameter positioned in close proximity to said end, thereby to minimize the length of the device exteriorly of the converter, said straight portion secured to said end to rotate therewith and extending diametrically across the same, at right angles 7 to said axis of rotation, said straight portion provided with a discharge port at said axis of rotation and a continuation of conduit leading angularly from the upper portion of the converter adjacent said end to the upper end of said straight portion.

4:- In a device of the class described, the combination of a converter of the rotary type mounted for movement about a horizontal axis, said converter provided with a charging throat, a gas conducting conduit fixed to said converter at one end to rotate therewith, leading from said throat and discharging along said horizontal axis of rotation at one end of the converter relatively fixed means at said discharging end for receiving the gaseous discharge from said conduit, said conduit having an opening facing converter fixed at one end thereof to rotate V therewith, said conduit provided with a discharge port positioned at the axis of rotation of the converter and provided with an extension below the discharge port constituting a dust chamber, said chamber having means providing access to the same.

7 In a device of the class described, the combination of a converter mounted for rotary movement about a horizontal axis, a conduit for the gaseous discharge from the converter fixed to oneend thereof to rotate therewith, said conduit provided \with a discharge port positioned at the axis of rotation of the converter, a relatively fixed gas receiving member and a floating tube constituting a flexible connection between the discharge port in the revoluble conduit and the fixed gas receiving member.

8. In a device of the class described, the o comblnation of a converter mounted for rotary movement about a horizontal axis,

combination of a converter mounted for rotary movement about ahorizontal axis, a

conduit for the gaseous discharge from the converter fixed to one end'thereof to rotate therewith, said conduit provided with a dis-,

charge port positioned at the axis of rotation of the converter, a relatively fixed gas receiving member, a floating tube constituting a flexible connection between the discharge port in the revoluble conduit and the fixed gas receiving member, and resilient means acting on the tube to maintain the same in bearing engagement with the conduit and to compress said packing.

10. In a device of the class described, the combination of a converter mounted for rotary movement about a] horizontal axis, a conduit for the gaseous discharge from the converter fixed to one end thereof to rotate receiving member, a floating tube having a gas conducting capacity substantially equal to that of the conduit, constituting a flexible connection between the discharge port in the revoluble conduit and the fixed gas receiving member and means acting on the tube to maintain a gas tight connection 10 between the tube and revolving conduit.

Signed at New York city in the county of New York and State of New York this 22nd day of November, "A. D. 1919.

WI LIAM H HOWARD; 

